


A Very Trifling Sundae

by Kirsten



Category: Smallville
Genre: F/M, Pre-Het
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-09-10
Updated: 2002-09-10
Packaged: 2017-10-13 15:27:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/138823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirsten/pseuds/Kirsten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lana thought ice cream had truly magical powers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Very Trifling Sundae

Lana thought ice cream had truly magical powers. It came in an amazing variety of flavours. It was creamy and soft and sticky and sexy. It was deliciously cold on long, hot summer evenings, and it made even the dreariest of days seem a little more lovely. It had to be magic, because she'd never seen Lex Luthor smile quite like that before.

"What's this one called again?"

"Mississippi Mud Slide."

He frowned. "Isn't that a pie? I'm sure I had Mississippi Mud Pie somewhere."

"I never said it was original."

"Well, when it tastes like this it doesn't have to be," he said, and Lana laughed as he sucked an even larger spoonful of triple chocolate ice cream covered in hot chocolate fudge sauce into his mouth.

It was a Sunday evening, after hours in the Talon. The staff were gone, the doors were locked, and the lights were very low. It was quiet and peaceful, the last of the spring rains pattering down onto the sidewalk outside. The top was down on Lex's car, but when she'd mentioned it he hadn't seemed to care. And why should he, when he had six more cars just like it?

They were busy choosing the summer menu. Ice cream, ice cream, and more ice cream, along with the usual fruit pies and various muffins. Lex had insisted on precision, executing the experiment with all the discipline of a scientist. The possibilities were lined up neatly in the refrigerator, ready and waiting to be subjected to the Lang-Luthor tastebud test.

So far, they'd tested Berry Your Appetite (vanilla ice cream with strawberry, raspberry, and many other berries thereof); Cool It, Baby (mint ice cream with milk and white chocolate chips and a sweet mint sauce); and Looking For Nuts? (peanut ice cream with chopped hazelnuts and almonds, bulked up with a caramel swirl and chunks of heavy toffee).

The last had been Lex's idea. He'd put the order in for peanut ice cream when she hadn't been looking, and strolled in the next day with his concoction neatly typed out on plain white paper, complete with a list of ingredients measured to point zero zero one of a gram, and what he'd called "blending times" detailed to the very last milisecond.

She'd looked at it, and said: "Aren't you taking this a little too seriously?"

He'd looked at her, and replied: "Ice cream is a serious business, Lana. It's just like chemistry."

And apparently it really was, at least as far as Lex was concerned. Lana had been happy to simply throw sweet things in a bowl and leave it at that, but Lex had declared that ice cream production needed a method. "The layers have to be right," he'd said, so earnestly Lana had forced back a laugh.

"What?" he demanded.

"You're an ice cream whore," Lana replied, absolutely delighted to learn something so quirky about Lex Luthor, and pleasantly astonished by her own boldness.

Lex smiled again. "My mother liked ice cream. She used to make her own," he explained, ruefully adding, "I guess it's in the genes."

Lana found it hard to imagine anyone with a greater passion for ice cream than Lex Luthor. She'd taken one or two spoonfuls of each dish: Lex had eaten them all. There was around half a litre to each one, and now he was tucking into a veritable landslide of chocolate ice cream with all the relish of a starving man at a king's feast. She stared at him, amazed.

He caught her look and raised his eyebrows. Lana felt compelled to tease.

"Do you ever eat up at that castle?"

"Of course," he snapped, but his eyes were laughing, and his expression was slightly sheepish. "I just -- really like ice cream."

"I never would have guessed. Wow. I feel ill just looking at you."

Lex chuckled, the sound loud in the dim light. "Why, thank you, Lana Lang, for that most cutting of compliments."

"You know what I mean," she said, laughing with him. She picked up her spoon and stole some of his ice cream. It really was delicious.

"It isn't food, you know," Lex said, with the kind of Luthor logic Lana could never quite figure out. "I mean, you can eat ice cream even when you've had a three course meal."

"Maybe guys can, but it really sticks to a girl's hips."

And just like that, the atmosphere changed. Lex leaned over the counter and blatantly looked her up and down, his eyes still smiling but tinged with that thing she often saw when guys looked at her as she walked down the street.

His head was close to her shoulder. He smelled clean and crisp, and he looked so smooth that just for a moment Lana wondered what it would be like to touch him, or kiss him, or --

He straightened up, but didn't pull away. His breath was warm and sweet like the cold chocolate he'd been eating, and Lana had never noticed before just how very blue his eyes were, how smart and bright he really was.

"You look okay to me," he said, and his voice was very husky.

Lana stepped away and looked down at her shoes, beat up old sneakers she'd had for a couple of years. They weren't proper attire for the assistant manager, but they were comfortable, and comfort was the most important thing to consider after a morning spent cleaning the stables and a day spent serving customers.

Lex leaned back. "The ice cream menu is a really great idea, Lana."

She smiled. The truth was, Lex had commented last week that he never really felt like eating apple pie when the weather was hot. It had been an off-hand remark, tossed out casually to Clark one night after school. She'd been wiping tables nearby, trying not to eavesdrop, but Lex had taught her a few things about running a business and taking any and every advantage presented, and Lana was nothing if not a dutiful student. She'd checked out the local ice cream suppliers the very next day.

"Thank you," she said, opting to take the credit regardless. She determinedly ignored the knowing in his eyes.

It was very dark outside. Lana thought it was probably time to leave, and pointed at Lex's bowl. "Are you done?"

He stood and stretched. Lana watched his body tense and then relax, and sighed. "Oh, I think so. Consider this a successful experiment, Miss Lang, although we should possibly repeat it. Empirical evidence, you know?"

"Uh huh. And of course, it has nothing to do with the fact you're an ice cream whore."

Lex grinned, and that thing flashed in his eyes again, dark and wicked and amused. "You can do amazing things with ice cream, Lana. All it takes is a little imagination."

His amusement made that thing easier for her to stand, and she grinned right back at him. "Whatever you say, Lex. How about next Sunday? Same time, same place?"

He picked up his car keys and smirked. "It's a date."

Lana watched him leave with a smile on her face, before fixing her gaze on the four bowls they'd emptied between them. She decided to dump them in the washer and leave them until morning.

She shrugged into her coat and turned out the lights, leaving the Talon in darkness. It was still damp outside, although it had stopped raining, and Lana was glad Lex had left her to walk home. She liked the smell of rain, of damp grass and spring flowers. For some reason, it reminded her of her parents.

Lex's Porsche was still parked outside by the time she locked the door, the passenger window open. It framed his face, and she reflected that he really did make a charming picture when he smiled, especially with that thing still in his eyes.

"You need a ride, Miss Lang?"

Lana laughed and shook her head, bending down to look at him more closely. His breath was still warm and sweet, and his eyebrows were tilted in such a way as to make him look hopeful. "Well, I don't know, Mr Luthor. What kind of ride are you offering?"

He ducked his head, almost shy. "Tonight? The regular kind. But maybe later . . ."

"A long time later," she said, and smiled to take the sting out of it.

He shrugged. "I'm not going anywhere. You sure you don't want a ride home?"

"I think I'll be safer walking alone in the dark."

"Funny girl," he shot back, teasing with his eyes. Lana watched him drive away with a smile on her face.

There would be another Sunday.


End file.
